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August 2013
SECTION two
Dancing, music, art at Summer Nights in Chinatown Part food event, part summer party, Chinatown Summer Nights takes place on Sat., Aug. 17 from 5 p.m. to midnight. The Chinatown Business Improvement District event features KCRW DJs who will spin dance music. In addi-
tion, L.A. Weekly will present a fresh crop of bands performing live. Culinary offerings include Iron Chef-style cooking competitions, Chinese and Asian cuisine, microbrews at an outdoor craft beer garden and gourmet food trucks.
Hands-on cultural workshops for all ages and shopping at the LA Craft Experience market featuring local designers and artists and at nearby Chinatown merchants are featured. Free and open to all ages. Visit chinatownsummernights.com.
“Very Hip & Cool Mid-Century” mu
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High ceiling entry, open and spacious floor plan, hardwood floors, redone kitchen with stainless appliances, den and powder room on first level. Two bedrooms up with redone bath, French doors leading out to the yard. Other features include: central air, newer roof, copper plumbing, upgraded electric, redone sewer line and great views from the garden landing above!
Sold Over the Asking Price with Multiple Offers!
754 S. Highand Ave. Listed at $1,195,000
Remodeled and ready for a new owner! Gleaming hardwood floors, recessed lighting, large living room with high ceiling, exposed wood beams, formal dining room with coved ceiling and breakfast room leading to kitchen and laundry area. Spacious backyard features an outdoor dining area with a stone fireplace, patio, and grassy area.
858-860 N. Las Palmas Ave. Listed at $875,000
Larchmont Chronicle
Architecture, history told in new book on Miracle Mile Take a walk back in time to the 20th century and before in “Miracle Mile in Los Angeles, History and Architecture.” The Mile’s origins on Wilshire Blvd. are tied to the boom in auto travel and real estate, says author Ruth Wallach, head of the USC‘s Architecture and Fine Art Gallery. No longer home to the May Co., Silverwood’s and Desmond’s department stores, Streamline Moderne and Art Deco still decorate the architecture, and Museum Row and the La Brea Tar Pits line the boulevard. Roughly between Sycamore and Fairfax avenues, the Mile is nearing a century since land developer A.W. Ross and his partners paid $54,000 for 18 acres of a dirt road that would become the extension of Wilshire west of La Brea Ave. The 128-page paperback begins earlier, covering Rancho La Brea, a land grant of approximately 4,440 acres. Henry Hancock and his brother John bought much of the land in 1870 at $2.50 an acre; it was considered worthless at the time because it was not well suited for farming. When Henry died in 1883, his widow Ida began selling and leasing the land to make ends meet; 20 years later oil was discovered on the Hancock property. Around 1903 Arthur Gilmore, a dairy farmer, also struck oil while drilling for water on his farm. The Gilmore Oil Co. would own 256 acres around Fairfax Ave. and Third St. Arthur’s son Earl opened a farmers’ market in 1934 for locals to sell their milk and produce. He also built a racetrack for midget car races at Fairfax and Beverly Blvd. with an 18,000seat stadium. It was also home to the Bulldogs, the first pro football team in L.A. Historic revival The author also covers Wilshire Blvd. history east of Miracle Mile, including Larch-
mont, Hancock Park, Windsor Square and Wilshire Park. In the 1910s and 20s several residential subdivisions were laid on the eastern edges of Rancho La Brea near Wilshire Boulevard—planned by Henry Gaylord Wilshire as a residential avenue bordered by grand mansions surrounded by parklike landscaping. Many of the homes, such as those in Windsor Square, were designed by prominent architects and builders in historic revival styles. These included Spanish Colonial, Tudor and Mediterranean. Some of the earlier subdivisions such as Wilshire Park featured Craftman Bungalows. Although autos were beginning to shape the city, Wind-
HOME development in Hancock Park, Windsor Square are included in the paperback.
sor Square was advertised as being served by the Melrose Avenue electric car line. To boost interest in areas to the east, the Western Construction Co. built an adobestyle demonstration home at 201 Larchmont Blvd. Opened in 1921, 48,000 people came to see it, marveling at its modern electrical devices. In 1919 George Allan Hancock, Ida’s son, leased some of the land to the Wilshire Country Club, which became the center of another exclusive neighborhood: Hancock Park. (Please turn to page 6)
Sold Represented Buyer
Tastefully remodeled Spanish duplex in the center of town! Two, 2 bedroom, 1bath units with newer plumbing, electrical, central heat and air, roof, windows, hardwood floors, landscaping and seismic bolting circa 2007. Remodeled kitchens with new cabinets, stainless steel appliances, butcher-block counter tops and designer backsplash tile. Gorgeous baths with new tile fixtures.
323-860-4240 www.SandyBoeck.com sandy.boeck@camoves.com BRE #01005153 Hancock Park South •119 N. Larchmont Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90004 • 323.462.1225 Fax ©2012 Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. Coldwell Banker® is a registered trademark licensed to Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. An Equal Opportunity Company. Equal Housing Opportunity. Owned And Operated By NRT LLC.
MAY COMPANY department store photographed on opening day, September 9, 1939. Courtesy of the Examiner.